 |  | Dear Friends, As we enjoy the hazy, lazy days of summer, we wanted to take a moment to share some books from the "iTHIRST Family," for your summer reading list. In addition to The Road to Hope: Responding to the Crisis of Addiction, my book with Lindsay Schlegel, we invite you to enjoy some of the following "good reads!" |
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| Radically Honest: 10 Peer Recovery Stories Mark Ehrenkranz What happens when a man who once thrived in the Hollywood film world trades red carpets for hospital corridors—spending his days beside those fighting for their lives in the ER, ICU, and detox units of an 800-bed hospital? Radically Honest is that story—and ten more. Written by Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Mark Ehrenkranz, who has been in recovery since 1985, this deeply human collection shines a light on the raw, redemptive journey of people who have faced addiction in all its forms—substance use, alcohol, gambling, sex, food, and behavioral compulsions—and found their way toward hope, service, and healing. |
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| These are not celebrity confessions or clinical case studies; they are real stories of experience, strength, and hope told with compassion, truth, and the unfiltered honesty that only lived experience can provide. |
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| Father Ed: The Story of Bill W.'s Spiritual Sponsor Dawn Eden Goldstein Winner of the Christopher Award Association of Catholic Publishers - 1st Place Catholic Media Association Award Winner Father Ed is the first biography of Father Edward Dowling, SJ, whose guidance transformed Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson’s life and deepened the spirituality of the twelve-step movement. Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson has one of the greatest legacies of any person of modern times. |
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| Time magazine placed him at No. 20 on its list of the most important people of the 20th century. But whenever Wilson himself had the opportunity to name the greatest human being he had ever met, he had but one answer: Father Edward Dowling, SJ |
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| The Lie That Kills Us: We All Have Elephants Ed Treat “A deeply moving book about denial and recovery. It will help so many people.”
— Johann Hari
We all have elephants. An addiction.
A wound.
A truth we’ve trained ourselves not to see. We tend to think of addiction as someone else’s problem—something that happens on the margins. But what if the real danger is closer to home? What if the most destructive force in our lives isn’t the substance—but the silence? The denial? |
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| The need to keep pretending? In The Lie That Kills Us, pastor and recovery advocate Ed Treat (founder, Center of Addiction and Faith) offers a deeply personal and unflinchingly honest exploration of addiction, denial, trauma, faith, and the human patterns that keep us stuck. Drawing from his own journey in long-term recovery, as well as decades of ministry experience, Treat reveals a powerful truth: Addiction is not just about substances.
It is about how we cope with pain we don’t know how to face. Blending story, theology, recovery wisdom, and psychological insight, this book uncovers the “elephants in the room” that shape our lives—individually, in families, in churches, and across our culture. |
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| The Return Way by Karin Rubinstein Why do we react the way we do—even when we know better?
Why does a small moment suddenly trigger anger, anxiety, shutdown, or the urge to escape? Most people believe their reactions are caused by what just happened. But the truth is something deeper: the mind quickly attaches meaning to a moment, drawing from old fears and experiences we may not even realize we carry. The RETURN Way™ offers a practical path to see what’s really happening—and change it. |
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| Created by emotional resilience expert and motivational speaker Karen Rubinstein, this powerful six-step process helps you slow down a reaction, understand the story your mind is telling, and choose a response that reflects who you truly are. Instead of trying to control your emotions or force positive thinking, The RETURN Way™ helps you: -
See the story behind a reaction -
Identify the belief driving it -
Trace the pattern back to where it began -
Uncover the fear beneath it -
Rewrite the meaning of the moment -
Nurture a new response that aligns with who you want to be Through clear explanations, real-life examples, and guided writing prompts, this workbook gives you a structured way to understand your reactions and begin changing them—one honest moment at a time. If you’ve ever found yourself asking:
“Why do I act this way?”
this book will help you finally understand the answer—and discover a way forward. You don’t need to become someone new.
You just need a way to return to yourself. |
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| The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments: A Catholic Journey through Recovery Scott Weeman Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (Second Place). In the first book to directly integrate the Twelve Steps with the practice of Catholicism, Scott Weeman, founder and director of Catholic in Recovery, pairs his personal story with compassionate straight talk to show Catholics how to bridge the commonly felt gap between the Higher Power of twelve-step programs and the merciful God that he rediscovered in the heart of the sacraments. |
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| Weeman entered sobriety from alcohol and drugs on October 10, 2011, and he's made it his full-time ministry to help others who struggle with various types of addiction to find spiritual wholeness through Catholic in Recovery, an organization he founded and directs. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Weeman candidly tackles the struggle he and other addicts have with getting to know intimately the unnamed Higher Power of recovery. He shares stories of his compulsion to find a personal relationship with God and how his tentative steps back to the Catholic Church opened new doors of healing and brought him surprising joy as he came to know Christ in the sacraments. |
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| Mastering Recovery by Barry A. Lehman, DMIN, LADC Best Indie Book Award
2024 Book of the Year for Non-Fiction: Sobriety/Alcoholism Recovery
Global Book Awards Winner:
Silver Medal- Health: Counseling and Psychology
Congratulations! You have been clean and sober for a number of years. But: - Are you afraid that even now, you’re not doing it right?
- Are you worried that the excitement of sobriety has become more a memory than a daily experience?
- Does the uneasiness that this is all there is to recovery disturb your serenity?
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| When recovery becomes both a mindset and a lifestyle, though, it is not a chore. It is who you are. In this book you will learn: - To be mindful of opportunities rather than barriers,
- The role of living your core principles and values, and
- How mastery can add meaning to your actions and life.
Barry Lehman, an experienced alcohol and drug abuse counselor for nearly thirty years, has developed an understanding of what can make the difference in building recovery beyond early sobriety. This book, Mastering Recovery, outlines a path that builds on the major treatment models. With insight, questions, and suggestions, Barry explores a part of recovery that is not often discussed- how to keep the movement of sobriety alive and vital for the long-term.
Read this book and you will discover a new freedom and a new happiness that can strengthen your daily living as a person in long-term recovery. |
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| Every Scar You Have Is a Story Unotold Francisca Diaz She survived what was meant to silence her.
Francisca Diaz was seven years old when her childhood was stolen. She was sixteen when her own mother turned her away. She spent seventeen years inside a marriage that tried to erase her; enduring abuse, isolation, and a silence so heavy it nearly buried her alive. And then she rose.
In this unflinching memoir, Francisca lays bare the truth of her life: the trauma, the grief of losing her beloved husband Luis, two battles with cancer, and the long, courageous road back to herself. |
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| From homeless teenager to certified Domestic Violence Coach, podcast host, and voice for the voiceless, hers is a story of what becomes possible when a woman refuses to stay broken. |
| Yours in the Most Holy Trinity, Keaton |
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| Keaton Douglas, MA, ITSC Executive Director I THIRST Initiative Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity 9001 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20903 973-370-DRUG (3784) office 973-224-6265 cell ITHIRSTINITIATIVE.org Isaiah 1: 17 |
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